5th wheel Towing capacity of 1993 gmc Sierra 3500 dually 6.5

With 185hp and 385 ft lbs of torque, it does not move a lot of thing fast. BUT, if you can keep it from overheating, you will get there! If it does not have the post 97 dual t-stat, hi flow waterpump, larger fan, do so, that is at least 10-20F on hills pulling. Altho with a 93, I believe that is the manual injection pump vs the later electronic one, so the overheating issue is not as great.

If you want to rebuild it, it is a much more tweakable motor than the 94+ electronic ones.
The 4l80 is the other weak point. There are some mods you can do to get a stronger trans. BUT, it is steal a poor towing choice as first is a tall gear ratio.
Max gcwr is 14500 for that motor. Not a big trailer if the truck weighs 5500-7000 lbs for a reg cab vs crew cab. My 96 sw CC weighed 6600 lbs. I pulled upwards of 12K with it. No not as fast as my 05 duramax, but I got there. I also had a 5 sp manual, which in reality, is the better trans behind that motor, even tho before 97, the manual was rated 2000 lbs less than the auto......

Marty

That's about right. 9-10k was max rating for those old rigs.

But Everyone blew those "ratings" out of the water...saw many monster fivers back in the day being pulled with rigs like yours.... They were surely well under the 10,000 on rating. (Ha ha ha)

Nevermind the gooseneck cattle trailers with 10 plus head on the trailer...

Regardless...it will be a bit slow on the hills at max or over. But it will do it.

Just how heavy are you planning on going?

Thanks!

Jeremiah

Google found this in three minutes...

1993 Chevrolet/GMC C3500 Pickup (2WD) 6.5 V-8 Turbo-Diesel 9000 lb
Notes: Requires Z82 Trailering Special Package. Requires automatic transmission._ Requires engine-oil cooler._ Requires transmission-oil cooler._ Requires weight-distributing hitch._ Requires 4.56:1 axle ratio_ Towing not recommended with GMC Typhoon._

http://trailers.com/tow-capacity/index.php?action=do_search&year=1993&make=Chevrolet/GMC&model=C3500%20Pickup%20%282WD%29&template=normal

That is 9K lbs for the gross trailer weight, regardless of tag or fifth wheel. I'd personally presume that hitch weight won't be much of an issue, but you do need excess payload capacity of 2,000 - 2,300 lbs.

Tried Google. Didn't find anything that seemed to apply to me

SouthpawHD wrote:
Found a few spots using Google to give you an idea. Google: 1993 gmc 3500 towing capacity

But the best thing to do is contact GM and give them the VIN. They should be able to give an accurate answer.

10,000pounds maximum will be about it. Not the truck as much as the motor/transmission that is your limiting factors.

Found a few spots using Google to give you an idea. Google: 1993 gmc 3500 towing capacity

But the best thing to do is contact GM and give them the VIN. They should be able to give an accurate answer.